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Movie Theaters May Jam Cell Phones |
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Movie Theaters May Jam Cell Phones
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Wed Mar 15, 2006 5:08 am
Movie theater owners are considering asking federal authorities for permission to install cell phone jammers in cinemas to stop annoying conversations during films. After coming off three straight years of declining admissions, industry leaders are looking for ways to win back crowds, including ways to silence cell phones, from sweeps by ushers to funny fake movie trailers urging viewers to shut off phones.
Last year theater owners expressed interest in blocking cell phone reception, however with the recent box office slump, cinema owners are becoming more aggressive in combating interruptions.
"I don't know what's going on with consumers that they have to talk on phones in the middle of theaters," John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, told the ShoWest conference in Las Vegas. "We will actually petition the Federal Communications (Commission) to remove the block" on jamming cell phones, he said.
But that may be difficult, not everyone is in favor of the move and federal law and FCC rules prohibit the use of cell phone jammers.
The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), a Washington-based cell phone lobby group, is protesting the action saying it would fight any move to block cell phone signals. "We're opposed to the use of any blocking technology, because it interferes with people's ability to use a wireless device in an emergency situation," CTIA spokesman Joseph Farren said.
The film industry "can't bury our heads in the sand," Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Dan Glickman warns. "We have to do more to attract customers and keep regulars coming back. It's no secret that our industry faces new challenges, but with every challenge there is an exciting opportunity."
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| 1. Posted by steva11 |
Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:13 pm |
theaters in halifax already jam cells.
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| 2. Posted by superguy |
Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:58 pm |
No, it can't be that movies bombard people with 10-15 minutes of commercials before they start and there have been a lot of mediocre movies that people don't want to spend their money on. 
If I'm going to spend $9 to see a movie, it had better be worth my time and money.
Sure, I don't want to hear a cell phone in a movie. However, the theater I attend is the busiest one in the country (or so they claim) and it's never been an issue.
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| 3. Posted by neek |
Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:10 pm |
So how do they know that their box office slump was as a result of people talking on the phones during movies? Did they hire some company to do a nationwide survey? Or are they making internal observations?
Perhaps it's Hollywood's lack of novelty in movie production, pertaining to ANY genre (Such as the generational reproduction of 80s films, i.e. She's The Man or even the lackluster attempts to be original AND witty: Snakes On A Plane, fer cryin' out loud!). Perhaps it is those annoying Fanta commercials or their psuedo-religion built up around Coca-Cola. I know it's been said before, but I'm reiterating.
Only because I'd like to really know, where did they get this silly idea that cellphones are what hurting the movie industry. Unless of course this is a pre-empt to defend themselves against cell-phone based piracy. It sounds silly, and that's because it is but is helluva more logical.
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| 4. Posted by superguy |
Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:24 pm |
I can't imagine that it'd be for cell phone based piracy. Even with the 3G systems, it just isn't practical.
Camera phones don't have anywhere near the quality. Low resolution, 15fps max, and a small mic.
On top of that, if everyone's filming the movie and trying to stream it to a PC at home, it'd kill the cell network. I don't think the carriers would allow that. Memory cards certainly aren't big enough to hold a good quality movie right now.
If someone really wanted to rip off a movie, it'd be more worth their time to rent the DVD and copy it rather than try to capture it on a cell phone. Less hassle and better quality, and it doesn't cost that much.
And did I mention the ads?  Another annoying thing with the ads is that if you want to show up early to get a decent seat, you're spammed with slides with ads on them.
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| 5. Posted by neek |
Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:11 pm |
Oh, how I love those local advertisements! What joy, what fun they bring me! At the local theatres here where I live, they don't just have slide-show commercials. They have, like, TV commercials playing.
Now I never said anything about it being practical currently, I said a preemptive attempt, but that requires forethought, which is quite in some demand.
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| 6. Posted by superguy |
Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:42 pm |
Now I never said anything about it being practical currently, I said a preemptive attempt, but that requires forethought, which is quite in some demand.
Oh I know you didn't. I'm just saying I didn't see that as being practical for a very long time, if ever.
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| 7. Posted by McFrisch |
Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:20 pm |
The Fed will not allow them to block cells. Firstly, it would not allow for 911 calls in case of emergency. Why not just force people to show the phone before entering the theater and turn it off. If they use it during the movie, kick them out, without refund. I think self-policing has been pretty good around my area. It is rare for this too happen and if it does, the person will get an earful from the rest of the audience.
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| 8. Posted by bhob_too |
Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:28 pm |
I keep a phone for business purposes only. If I'm at the theater I'm not there for business and the phone is off.
That said, it's been quite a while since it was even an issue for me. The movies that are in the theaters now are so unappealing that I usually don't bother. I have to remember that there are 20 - 30 minutes of commercials at the start of the film. There's always someone in the middle of the row who has to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes. Don't forget that couple who just can't bear to leave their infant in the care of a babysitter for three hours. What is the sticky stuff I just put my foot in? Why is it that the guy in front of me is always seven feet tall? At $8 - 10 a ticket and $10 - 15 each for snacks it has to be a really good movie or I'd just as soon spend my money on dinner at a good restaurant, then rent something to take home and watch.
On those rare occassions when I just have to see it on the big screen, yes, it bothers me to have someone talking in the row just behind me. Whether it's on their cell phone or to the person sitting next to them doesn't matter. I've found though, that most people don't do that; they're in the theater, most of the time, to watch the movie too. The real bother are those loud, musical ring tones going off every few minutes all over the theater. If you just can't bear to turn off your phone then please inform all of your friends and family that you'll be at the show and to please not call you between 7:15 and 10:00 (yeah, right).
What's all this about emergency calls? From inside a theater? OK, if you're a pregnant woman within days of your due date, maybe... But for most anything else, if you're likely to be in an emergency situation in the next two hours then you probably shouldn't be in a theater in the first place. Or how about this? The last time I went to a theater there was a pay phone in the lobby. If you can afford the price of a movie today you can certainly afford to put two quarters into a pay phone.
The guy who talked about copyright infringement is not so far off the mark. I recently saw a phone that will transmit a continous feed with a very good resolution and it had a zoom lens, just the thing for making bootleg movies. Care to guess who had it? Was it some high-paid, in-the-clique phone executive? No, it was my 12-year-old niece. The speed of electronic advancement is such that the next generation of personal communications may be only days away. I'd be willing to bet that there will be cell phones capable of sending DVD quality video and sound long before you can push anything through the FCC Board, and satellite-TV proves we already have the means to transmit the signal.
If it came up for a vote, I wouldn't have a problem voting for a jamming system, and not just for theaters either. I'd line the interstates with them, or better yet, every car would have to have a cell phone jammer built in at the factory and wired into the start circuit. I'd put them in restaurants, doctors' offices and retail stores, just to start. I'd make them available in a size small enough to carry around in your pocket, so no one would be able to talk on a cell phone within 20 feet of anyone who has a personal jammer. Hey! the possibilities are endless! Where's an electronics genious when you need one?
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| 9. Posted by pewtey |
Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:29 pm |
i hate those who forget to silence their phones, or the ones who make or take calls in the theatre just as much as anyone.
but cell phone jamming is not a good idea. not to mention emergencies, which quite frankly isn't a good excuse -- if someone has a heart attack or is giving birth, are you more likely to whip out your phone or ask if anyone in the theatre is a doctor? i think most patrons would be forgiving in this situation and i'm sure the movie theatre would reimburse your ticket if this happened while you were at a movie.
the issue i think is more a personal one -- parents out at a movie with their children at home with a sitter; doctors, IT admins, and other people who are on call, etc. these people need to have their phones with them and turned on, and their use should not be blocked.
the issues are: 1. people talking on their phone and 2. phones ringing. the first problem can be solved by telling people to get out of the theatre if they get a call they must answer. the second problem is solved by using the "vibrate" or "silent" feature that every single phone comes with.
i think the answer is to continue educating and encouraging people (maybe offer a small incentive for patrons to turn in offenders?). the more unpleasant we make it, the more people will use appropriate discretion and we won't have to resort to brute force methods which never work, at least not well. this problem won't go away tomorrow, but it will begin to subside.
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| 10. Posted by brianthebmf |
Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:02 pm |
I can't imagine that it'd be for cell phone based piracy. Even with the 3G systems, it just isn't practical.
Camera phones don't have anywhere near the quality. Low resolution, 15fps max, and a small mic.
On top of that, if everyone's filming the movie and trying to stream it to a PC at home, it'd kill the cell network. I don't think the carriers would allow that. Memory cards certainly aren't big enough to hold a good quality movie right now.
If someone really wanted to rip off a movie, it'd be more worth their time to rent the DVD and copy it rather than try to capture it on a cell phone. Less hassle and better quality, and it doesn't cost that much.
And did I mention the ads? Another annoying thing with the ads is that if you want to show up early to get a decent seat, you're spammed with slides with ads on them.
Did you even read the article?
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| 11. Posted by cementmaker |
Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:33 am |
hmm that is a very interesting problem... how about blocking cell phone reception in cinemas? so any calls made to people who are in cinemas are blocked 
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| 12. Posted by billpen |
Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:19 am |
and use of electronics to do so is illeagle why dont the just make a big feraday(sp) cage so to say line the walls and doors with cooper mesh and it will block the sig that typ of room is used to test suff and block out any out side source or cut it down it would just be the king of them
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